Gaming 1: You are likely to be eaten by a grue
A thread for the discussion of games: board, LARP, MMORPG, video, tabletop RPG, game theory etc. etc. and all attendant news, developments and ancillary subjects thereof, as well as coordinating/scheduling games either online or IRL. All are welcome to chime in, talk about their favorite games or learn about gaming of any sort.
PLEASE TO WHITEFONT SPOILERS for video games, RPG modules or anything for which foreknowledge of events might lessen one's enjoyment of whatever gaming experience.
RftG
End-of-round summary:
Round 5
omnis_audis
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Rebel Fuel Cache (Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Gem World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World) + good
Cards in Hand:
6
Victory Points:
1
askye
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Investment Credits (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Prosperous World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Replicant Robots (Development)
Cards in Hand:
2
Victory Points:
2
Connie Neil
Layout
New Sparta (Military World)
Former Penal Colony (Military Blue Windfall World)
Malevolent Lifeforms (Military Green Production World) + good
New Military Tactics (Development)
Cards in Hand:
4
Victory Points:
0
chrismg
Layout
Earth's Lost Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Contact Specialist (Development)
Spice World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Avian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Cards in Hand:
9
Victory Points:
1
VP Pool: 44
RftG
Choice for round 6 are in! We will resolve three Phases this round, being Phases II (develop), III (settle) and IV (consume). Choices were:
omnis: Phase II - Develop
askye: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)
Connie Neil: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)
chrismg: Phase III - Settle
Phase II is first. omnis and chrismg both draw a card at the start of this Phase. Everyone, please let me know if you will play a development, and if so, how you pay for it. (I suggest you put in COs for Phase III at the same time.)
RftG
Phase II (develop) is ready to go.
omnis
plays Consumer Markets. This lets him consume up to three Blue goods for 1 VP each, and in Phase V, he can draw a card for every Blue good he produces. He chose this Phase, so he pays 4 cards, at a -1 discount.
askye
passes on developing.
Connie
plays Export Duties for 1 discard. This lets her draw one extra card when she trades. (She chose Consume (Trade) this round, so Export Duties will get an early workout.
chrismg
plays Galactic Federation. This is a 6-point development; he discards 6 cards to play it. It gives him -2 on the cost of playing any development. At game end, it will be worth 2 VPs for every 6-point development he has, and 1 VP for every other development.
Phase III (Settle) is next. Anyone who hasn't put their orders in yet, please do so.
I got in a game of Race for the Galaxy this afternoon, against Ryan. He decided he wanted to try a new game today. It was fun, he had New Sparta while I got Epsilon Eridani. He tried out a military strategy while I went for produce-and-consume. Sadly, he couldn't find good military worlds fast enough, though he did get down a couple of very good 6-point developments for a total of 17 bonus points. But I had time to accumulate 25 VPs from consuming, and added two 6-point developments of my own for 22 points. (One was Galactic Renaissance, which adds 1/3 of the VPs from consumption to your score and also gives points for each of three specific cards. When I drew it, I happened to have one of them already in my layout and one in my hand. Very lucky.)
Ryan loved it. It's the sort of game he likes, where you can build something (without worrying about whether your opponent is going to mess it up). Plus, he likes puzzling out complex systems. Maybe tomorrow, we'll try a game with his Mummy too.
Unlike Ryan, I was kind of hoping for a chance to use my military power to snag a good producing world from someone else.
Unlike Ryan, I was kind of hoping for a chance to use my military power to snag a good producing world from someone else.
Wait? Can you do that??
Not in the base game. There's an expansion with optional rules that allow it under certain circumstances. (But you can still only take over military worlds.)
Well, what the heck good are my Plague Worlds and Malevolent Lifeforms if I can't sic them on a nice, unsuspecting Artist Colony or Galactic Resort?
Pssst - Connie is the Evil Empire. Pass it on!
RftG
Pssst - Connie is the Evil Empire. Pass it on!
Pfft, like that's news. Meanwhile, I have everyone's orders for Phase III.
omnis
wants no part of this. No world for him.
askye
settles Empath World. This is a non-military Green windfall world, costing 1 discard. However, with Replicant Robots, that cost goes to 0. Empath World, aside from starting with a Green good in place, reduces askye's military strength by 1, to -1. Alpha Centauri renames itself the Hippie Empire.
Connie
plays Lost Alien Warship. This Yellow windfall world adds 2 to her military strength, for a total of 5. It's good to be the Evil Empire. However, this is a military world, and it takes 5 strength to settle it in the first place. Connie does so by discarding her New Military Tactics.
chrismg
chose this Phase, and settles Pirate World (yarr). Yon world be a 3-strength military world; chrismg settles it via Contact Specialist for 2 discards (the rest of his hand), making use of the pirates' well-known love of negotiation. This is a Blue windfall world. chrismg chose this Phase, so he draws a card after settling.
Phase IV is next.
